Tuesday, 21 October 2008

Kettlebell training is a new craze to have hit some western nations but the truth is that the kettlebell history is unique and this centuries old training technique is one that Russia has been using religiously.

What is a Kettlebell?

A kettlebell is essentially a large cast iron ball with a handle. Kettlebells come in different weights (pounds and kilograms), the kettlebells in kilograms normally come in weights of even numbers while kettlebells in pounds can come in a variety of weights.

Kettlebell History

The kettlebell history is interesting.

The first documented mention of the kettlebell dates back to a Russian dictionary from 1704. It is believed that during this time the kettlebell was actually a counterweight used in the Russian markets to measure the weight of produce. Those in the villages and small towns started using the kettlebells as a way of keeping fit by throwing them around much like the shot put found in th present day Olympics.

Over time the kettlebell became very popular among strongmen who started incoorporating the kettlebell in to their strength training regime. This use of the kettlebell started with the Russian strongmen but was also used by strongmen across the countries of western Europe and America.

In fact if you look at old strongmen manuals from the early 1900's you will see that the kettlebell is a main part of all training regimes from the east or west.

As time progressed kettlebells disappeared from the west but carried on being used religiously in the Soviet Union (present day Russia).

It was not until the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991 that kettlebells were seen again in the west. Even at this time they were not really bothered with and it has only been the past 12 to 24 months that kettlebells have been advocated as a great training tool in the gym for both men and women.